sábado, abril 19, 2008

RAGGA & RAGGA JUNGLE

Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga is a sub-genre of Dancehall music or Reggae in which the instrumentation primarily consists of electronic music; sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music as well.

Wayne Smith's 'Under Me Sleng Teng' was produced by King Jammy in 1985 on a Casio MT-40 synthesizer. and is generally recognized as the seminal ragga song. "Sleng Teng" boosted Jammy's popularity immensely, and other producers quickly released their own versions of the riddim, accompanied by dozens of different vocalists.

Ragga jungle is the type of music that emerged circa 1989-1990 and is initially heavily based on production of Michael West (Rebel MC, Congo Natty Label). Early pioneers of the genre also include Leenie De Ice and Ragga Twins.

This style is credited with engaging the black community within the jungle scene, and contributed to the 'bad boy' or 'rude boy' subculture within the UK. Ragga jungle's popularity waned significantly since 1995 in the UK, in part because the more popular DJs have avoided giving the sound airtime. Ragga jungle is now a niche sound, with a small number of labels releasing music that can be categorised in this manner.

Recently, (2001-present) Canadian and American producers have been gaining popularity with their updated version of the sub-genre largely through online networks, sparking a small, yet international renaissance. Prominent produers of this new-school sound are continuing to build bridges; often revoicing classic reggae singers to produce new works for exclusive use ( as "dubplates") and retail sale as 12" vinyl singles and downloadable mp3's.



1 comentário:

Unknown disse...

Long live the raggamuffin sound...reminds me of Toronto ragga parties back in 1998.

Lest we forget!